fiat
Americannoun
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fiats
plural
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an authoritative decree, sanction, or order.
a royal fiat.
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a fixed form of words containing the word fiat, by which a person in authority gives sanction, or authorization.
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an arbitrary decree or pronouncement, especially by a person or group of persons having absolute authority to enforce it.
The king ruled by fiat.
noun
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official sanction; authoritative permission
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an arbitrary order or decree
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literary any command, decision, or act of will that brings something about
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fiat
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin: “let it be done,” 3rd-person singular present subjunctive of fierī “to become”
Explanation
You might think a fiat is just an Italian car, but it actually means a legal, authoritative decision that has absolute sanction. From the Latin for "let it be done," the word fiat is a binding edict issued by a person in command. It can gain an almost Biblical aura of authority, like a movie Pharaoh saying, "So let it be written, so let it be done." So let it be a fiat.
Vocabulary lists containing fiat
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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This Week In Words: January 4–10, 2020
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Texas v. Johnson (1989)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Legislative fiat may not take the place of fact in the judicial determination of issues involving life, liberty, or property,” Justice Pierce Butler wrote in Western & Atlantic Railroad v.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
It looks like the so-called debasement trade, fleeing the dollar and other fiat currencies for gold, is over for now.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Security shouldn’t be dictated by administrative fiat; it should be treated as a critical competitive feature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
At the same time they also note possible black-swan event risks like crises caused by sovereign debt, food or fiat collapse.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
They came to the fiat top where the rock was hard to hands and knees.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
Once spoken, the fiats cannot change without wounding the leader’s credibility.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2022
Yoo makes it clear that he thinks such executive fiats would be unconstitutional.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2020
President Dwight Eisenhower, who had put himself above the fray, began to fight back with information leaks and administrative fiats.
From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2020
With aristocratic privileges created and enforced by government fiats there were few meaningful opportunities for the common citizen to advance their business interests.
From Economist ● Sep. 2, 2013
Theydon scarcely knew the names of the other dwellers in his own block, and his acquaintance did not even go that far with any of the remaining tenants of 48 fiats, all told.
From Number Seventeen by Louis Tracy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
